Hand punch for cutting sheet material on various curves and straight lines



July 19. 1966 .J. KLENK 3,261,096

HAND PUNCH F0 UTTING SHEET MATE L ON VARIOUS CURVES AND STRAIGHT LI Filed May 6, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7a 7 mnmlllllllll Z0 1 I a q mullllllllllllllllllllllflflllllumnmm fl INVEN TOR.

KARL J KLENK July 19. 1966 K. J. KLENK HAND PUNCH FOR CUTTING SHEET MATERIAL ON VARIOUS CURVES AND STRAIGHT LINES Filed May 6, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. KARL. J. KLENK 97- aENE United States Patent 3,261,096 HAND PUNCH FOR CUTTING SHEET MATERIAL 0N VARIOUS CURVES AND STRAIGHT LINES Karl J. Klenk, Center Mill Road, RD. 1, Chadds Ford, Pa. Filed May 6, 1964, Ser. No. 365,261 2 Claims. (Cl. 30-242) The invention herein disclosed relates to hand punches and the general objects of the invention are to provide a practical, powerful hand tool for cutting sheet material, laminate, Formica and other material on various selected curves and straight lines, with a clean, sharp cut and without breaking tearing or otherwise injuring or marring the material.

Particular objects of the invention are to provide such a tool in a simple low cost construction, free of any fragile or complicated parts, subjected to wear or likely to get out of order.

Further special objects of the invention have been to design the parts so that all could be made of sheet metal and be readily assembled and be secured together by simple nut and screw fastenings.

Other desirable objects accomplished by the invention and the novel features of construction, combination and relation of parts through which the purposes of the invention are attained, are set forth and will appear in the course of the following specification.

The drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification illustrate a present commercial embodiment of the invention.

Structure, however, may be modified and changed as regards the immediate illustration, all within the true intent and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined and claimed.

FIG. 1 in the drawings is a side elevation of the tool in the open positon ready to be engaged over material to be cut.

FIG. 2 is a similar view showing the tool in the closed, cutting position, broken lines indicating the material.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the tool.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the tool, broken lines indicating how the tool may be used to cut straight or variously curved lines.

In the several views, upper and lower hand levers are shown at 7 and 8, pivotally connected together at their meeting ends at 9 and acted upon by a coiled spring 10 engaged about the pivot and having its opposite ends 11 and 12 hearing against the levers to force them apart.

These hand grip levers are shown as of folded, hollow formation providing spaced side walls 13 and 14 through which the pivot screw 9 extends and with the side walls 14 of the lower handle more closely spaced and located between the more widely spaced side walls 13 of the upper handle and with the coils of the spring disposed between the inner walls of the lower handle.

A guide post 15 of flat sheet metal extends downwardly from the lower handle, having its upper end located between the sides of that handle and pivotally connected thereto by a through screw 16.

This guide post carries at its lower end a cutting die 17 of inverted U-shaped cross sectioin having a generally flat table portion 18 and widely spaced dependent side walls 19 formed with rearward extensions 20 secured flat over the lower end of the guide post by through screws 21.

The upper, table portion of the cutting die is shown formed with a three sided rectangular die opening 22, FIG. 4.

A correspondingly shaped but smaller cross section punch element 23 is operable down through this die opening, this punch part being carried by a side 24 operating over the guide post 15.

The lower end of the punch is shown cut on a bevel 25, to eifect a shearing of the cut material over the edge of the die opening.

The punch is shown formed of sheet material folded in U-shape at 26 over the outer edge of the guide post and having an upwardly extended flat portion 27 sliding over one side of the flat post in opposition to a flat clip forming piece 28 sliding over the opposite face of the post and having angularly turned opposite edge portions 29, 30 engaged over opposite edges of the post and over opposite edges of the extended portion 27 of the punch element.

In this way the two parts, the punch and the clip member 28 are made to form the slide which is operable over the post.

Movement is imparted to the punch slide by a pair of links 31 pivoted at 32 to the upper hand lever and pivoted at 33 to the slide, the latter pivot operating through a slot 34 in the post.

To direct, guide and support the tool over the work, the post is shown as carrying a forwardly extended presser foot or guide 35 forked to project about opposite sides of the punch and spaced above the cutting die a distance sufficient for free entrance of the material to be cut.

This presser foot is shown as having an upturned inner end portion 36 terminating in spaced lugs 37 embracing and secured over opposite sides of the post by a through screw 38.

A finger releasable hook 39 is shown pivoted at 40 on the lower grip lever for engagement with a projecting screw 41 on the upper lever for holding the hand grip in the closed position shown in FIG. 1.

What is claimed is:

1. A hand punch for cutting sheet material on variously curved or straight lines, comprising companion upper and lower hand levers pivoted together at one end,

a dependent guide post pivotally hung from the lower hand lever on a pivot center located inwardly of said end pivot,

a cutting die on the lower end 'of said guide post,

a punch forming slide operable over said guide post above said cutting die and having a companion punch element at the lower end of the same cooperable with said cutting die,

a push-pull link pivotally connected with said slide and with the upper hand lever, and

a spring coiled about said end pivot and having its opposite ends expansively engaged with the upper and lower hand levers to apply a spreading force to said levers and lifting action on said punch forming slide.

said hand levers being of folded hollow construction, with the guide post of flat sheet metal pivoted in the folded hollow portion of the lower hand lever and the slide of sheet metal folded flat about the guide post and there being two links extending about opposite sides of the hand levers.

2. A hand punch for cutting sheet material comprising,

companion upper and lower hand levers of folded hollow formation having spaced side walls and arranged with said spaced side walls of the lower lever between the spaced side walls of the upper lever and said levers pivotally connected by a pivot member extending through said assembled side walls,

a spring coiled about said pivot member, between the spaced side walls of the lower lever and having extended ends engaged within said hollow levers to force them apart,

a guide post having its upper end disposed within said lower lever and pivotally connected with said lever by a pivot member extending between the side walls of said lower lever,

said guide post extending below said lower lever, References Cited by the Examiner a cutting die on the lower end of said guide post, UNITED STATES PATENTS a slide operable over said guide post, a a punch on the lower end of said slide cooperable with 1,890,234 12/1932 Pickering 3 41 X said cutting die, at opposite sides of said hand levers, 5 2,797,481 7/ 1957 Iggulden 30242 push-pull links pivotally connected at their upper ends with said upper hand lever and pivotally connected WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner. at their lower ends with said slide by a pivot pin extending through said guide post BERNARD A. GELAK, Examzner. said guide post having a slot for free passage of said 10 J. C. PETERS, Assistant Examiner.

last mentioned pivot pin. 

1. A HAND PUNCH FOR CUTTING SHEET MATERIAL ON VARIOUSLY CURVED OR STRAIGHT LINES, COMPRISING COMPANION UPPER AND LOWER HAND LEVERS PIVOTED TOGETHER AT ONE END, A DEPENDENT GUIDE POST PIVOTALLY HUNG FROM THE LOWER HAND LEVER ON A PIVOT CENTER LOCATED INWARDLY OF SAID END PIVOT, A CUTTING DIE ON THE LOWER END OF SAID GUIDE POST, A PUNCH FORMING SLIDE OPERABLE OVER SAID GUIDE POST ABOVE SAID CUTTING DIE AND HAVING A COMPANION PUNCH ELEMENT AT THE LOWER END OF THE SAME COOPERABLE WITH SAID CUTTING DIE, A PUSH-PULL LINK PIVOTALLY CONNECTED WITH SAID SLIDE AND WITH THE UPPER HAND LEVER, AND A SPRING COILED ABOUT SAID END PIVOT AND HAVING ITS OPPOSITE ENDS EXPANSIVELY ENGAGED WITH THE UPPER AND LOWER HAND LEVERS TO APPLY A SPREADING FORCE TO SAID LEVERS AND LIFTING ACTION ON SAID PUNCH FORMING SLIDE. SAID HAND LEVERS BEING OF FOLDED HOLLOW CONSTRUCTION, WITH THE GUIDE POST OF FLAT SHEET METAL PIVOTED IN THE FOLDED HOLLOW PORTION OF THE LOWER HAND LEVER AND THE SLIDE OF SHEET METAL FOLDED FLAT ABOUT THE GUIDE POST AND THERE BEING TWO LINKS EXTENDING ABOUT OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE HAND LEVERS. 